Lissa and Eric, thank you so much for making the drive to see me.  Your spirit made my day, my week, so much better and while I always say I selfishly do things for you (my clients in general) to make myself feel better, I will for sure tell you this time it was YOU that did that for me.

That said, Corey and Jim were so excited to welcome their little baby girl. And they are both adjusting to parenting, and their new roles, and are so cute, and loving and happy. Corey looks amazing, but we knew she would after we saw how insane she looked during her pregnancy. Baby Nicoletta is so sweet.  Her skin is perfect (even her peely feet, which might be my FAV thing about little babies!).  She is sweet and wide-eyed, and never once fussed (except when she was hungry, and c’mon, I know I still fuss when I am hungry!).  I loved having them at my studio.  And I am so excited for a lifetime of blond hair in my future, and photographs in theirs!

So here are my favorites, not all my favorites because that would be the entire session, but enough so that you understand that this too will be a session that will make me incredibly happy, and undoubtedly end up somewhere on my sample wall, along side Caroline!

Let’s be honest, no one ever, ever, ever wants to have the message delivered that says “you’ve got cancer.” But when the call is made to a young mother, and it’s about her husband, it’s impossible to fathom.  It’s not my experience, and I don’t live it… but I’ve had the privilege of knowing Stacey as she’s gone through it. And I can tell you that from the outside looking in, she is tremendous.

Because of this connection, and that I owed Stacey her slideshow, and because she has her “Marathon Walk” to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute coming up (more info and donations here), I thought it would be an awesome time to check in and chat.

For those of you that don’t know Stacey, or this is your first time hearing her story… she is a young mom of adorable twins.  Her husband Joey was diagnosed with a glioblastoma multiforme when she was two months pregnant and he passed away when the twins were six months old.  She works full time and “on the side” she runs her late husbands HVAC business.  She never sleeps, she has boundless energy, and she’s a very funny girl.  She sort of makes me look like I lay on the couch eating bon-bons all day.

I pulled up a few images to go with the post… they are both happy, and sad, but either way, they are so, so important. [Please be patient, the first slideshow might take a minute to appear].

It’s been 2.5 years since Joey passed away.  And while it’s your life, not mine, I can’t decide if that time has flown, and if it feels like a lifetime ago or if it feels like yesterday.  How does it feel to you?

Some days I feel like it was years ago another life that I had. And, then some days when I have time to “think” about what happened or see an action or smile in my children’s faces and see their father and I feel like it was just yesterday that I lost him or when I have a dream and wake up and reach for my cell phone and want to call him and can’t, it feels like it just happened.

Tell us the back story… you found out you were pregnant and found out he had cancer all within a few days of each other.

Joey and I had been trying for about a year to get pregnant. I found I was pregnant and when my levels were so high, we went in June for an ultra sound and found out we had twins…  On a Monday we found out it was cancer, few days later twins, and then a few days later brain surgery. To this day it’s all surreal and I truly don’t recall a lot of what happened or how it was delivered to us….. it was just like walking through a fog. Actually, the majority of my pregnancy is a fog because there was only one focus and that was Joey.

Joe was able to spend six months with his children, then he passed.  How do you keep him alive for them?

We talk about their father and have photos of him on the walls and in their rooms. I try to continuously tell them about their father and how strong, smart and brave he was and that he loved them very much. And, just recently showed them our wedding video. And, remind them constantly that he is always watching them from “up above, in heaven”.

Was there a particular milestone or time amount that passed that made you think “I can do this?”

I can tell you that “not doing this” was never an option. I knew from the diagnosis and the failure of several treatments that his health was not good and that we were on borrowed time and I had to make this work for us. God was taking one, but leaving me with two precious jewels that I had to take care of and be there for; there was no choice.

The twins are 3 now… and are beautiful and happy and well-adjusted… what has been key to making this happen?

Getting us to 3, we’ve definitely had ups and downs and lots of tears, but I think by keeping Joey’s memory alive and talking about him, Joey’s family staying involved in their day to day lives, my mother whom moved in to support me and the kids, and reminding them that we are a team and we get through things together has helped us to get where we are.  I also think that when they ask or cry or say they miss there daddy by acknowledging their feelings and just saying “I do too,” and “yes this is not fair” helps them not feel alone.

What do you do on the days you just can’t get out of bed?  Or for you, on the days that you can’t sleep for even one minute (as I know you are always awake!)?  How do you push through?

Sleep is a pastime favorite — looking forward to teenage years and dragging them out of bed!   I used to worry about everything. But, now to survive the day, I’ve learned not to worry about the future just get through today and what needs to be done. I take numerous deep breaths through out the day.

Describe a perfect day.

A perfect day….  I’ve slept at least 4 hours, the twinettes awake easily to get dressed; lunches packed, and back packs together so Gram can get them out the door by 9:30 to go to school. I begin with a decent ride to Boston via Route 1 South by 7:45 to make into work 9 and then I get my perfect commute home and am with kiddos by 6:30 so I can have some day light to play with them before bed time.

I traveled Europe for 2 months by myself.  I was in the Philippines for a short time.  I LOVE to cook.  Neat freak.  Love love the theatre.

Stacey, thank you so much for being so candid… and for the honesty and going back to those days.  You are an amazing lady and I am so glad I know you.  Here are you latest images, from our awesome beach session… best light I’ll get all year! [Watch this one full screen!]

Yesterday, I did something that is not typical of my normal behavior.  I vented, publicly, on Facebook.  If you know me, you know that I have my little trust tree, and that a close group of girls climb up into it bring me a cocktail, a snack, and they let me air out.  And when I’m done, we are laughing, I feel better, and we all climb on down to the ground (I swear we can still watch our kids from up there!).  I don’t see the internet as a place to vent about clients, vendors, or other photographers.  And yesterday I let that slip.  After deleting my posts, I thought long and hard about the takeaway.  How could I use it to push me to be better?  Had I been the offender?  What could I both learn and teach from it?

I am going to omit the specifics of my situation, because rather than point a finger, I am going to try to swipe broadly and hope that there are positive takeaways from this.  As always, there will be people who will vehemently disagree with me.  All I can do is repeat what I have in the past: if it bothers you, please make sure that you ask yourself “WHY?” before you reply.  Because typically when I find myself either taken aback, or feeling insulted, or completely opposed, I realize it’s because the person has struck something at my core, that either I’ve been trying to resolve… or trying to hide.  And so whether or not I planned it, this type of feedback, criticism, or enlightenment ends up being a growing experience for me.

The issue at hand is originality, authenticity, and downright plagiarism.

Please understand, this is not a new issue, nor is it one that has happened on a recurring basis to me as it has to some of my truly amazing and talented colleagues.  That said, one of the most publicized portrait photography copy-cat instances — the Groupon Photographer — copied my “About Me” section from my old blog.  Overall, I feel like a lot of my work is fairly straightforward and classic, and so is it easy to copy and did I perhaps copy from others?  You bet… I can’t really claim that I invented “OK, everyone look at the camera and smile.”

There are so many aspects to this, and it is a source of endless, and exhausting discussions, so let’s tackle the easiest piece first: plagiarism.  In the Groupon case, she copied and pasted my About Me wording, and used it on her site (along with most of Jodie Otte’s images). If I recall, there were about 10 words added in, and about 10 words taken out, so had I entered it exactly (with quotations) into my browser, or copyscape, an identical match would not have appeared.  However, my statement was something to the effect that I was locked in my office, drinking coffee and them finding me was like finding a set of lost keys.  I wrote that because at the time, I was working at IBM, I literally NEVER left my office, and when I emerged, my friends were so excited — like they never expected to see me again, and what I surprise, there I was just like lost keys!  Her About Me statement had the elements “Locked in my office, coffee and lost keys.”  Now every other photographer seems to mention coffee (or wine) in their About Me section, so does it make it unique (no) or generic (yes)?  But coupled with the other elements, even while not an exact word match, made it too similar to mine.  And when you continued to read, you could see where she’d left out a word, or perhaps spelled out “it is” from my “it’s.”

The point is, I wrote that statement because it was so AUTHENTIC to who I was at that moment — when I remember it now, it immediately takes me back to that exact time in my life.  There is just no way that a photographer with a seemingly thriving business, and a studio who wanted to bring in a ton of business via Groupon, could have felt that same exact way.  And people knew instantly that it didn’t ring true, and that it wasn’t authentic.

Creating a blog or a website can be daunting — so much text you have to come up with.  How do you sound witty, smart, like the chic girl next door who will never make you say cheese and wants to capture the in between moments and “tell your story?”  You can buy the content.  It’s easy.  There is a TON of content out there for purchase.  I won’t knock that, I think I bought some when I was starting out.  And when you BUY it, you are PAYING for the right to use content that someone else came up with.  FAIR & SQUARE.  But when you COPY it from someone else, whether they live in the next town over, or across the country, it’s ILLEGAL.  And it’s wrong.  It’s essentially looking at a fellow photographer and saying “I don’t value you or the industry at all, I have no respect for the time and work that you put into developing this, and I am just going to take it.”  Whoever says “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” can go to hell.  Exact imitation shows not only a total lack of respect, but it also puts a spotlight on what you have failed to learn to do yourself.

The photography world, particularly lifestyle newborn, children and family photographers, seems to be incredibly inbred.  There are about 5 sets of parents (parent = major user forum), and many photographers are birthed from there (I was!).  People read blogs and follow websites, and catch on to trends and generally all strive for the next best thing.  And so this plagiarism line gets very blurry.  If you Google  “natural light lifestyle photographer” for your city, chances are that within the first page or two, you will find at least 5 photographers who have an About Me section that states that they picked up a camera after the birth of their first child, they’ll never make you say cheese, and then they will proceed to list things they like.  Did they all copy each other?  Probably not.  It’s a trend.  If two people have an almost identical like list and and there are enough words/sentences that are uncannily similar, then I’d bet one “inspired” the other.  And one of those people is not being authentic, and the other is probably steaming mad.  So should you not follow the trend because you are worried about plagiarizing? No, you can do whatever feels right to you… but come up with it YOURSELF.  And if it feels like it’s similar to something you’ve read before, it probably is.  Sit on it, mull it over.  And at some point during the week or so, you’ll have an ah-ha moment and think “THIS is what I want them to know about me… and it’s SO ME” (not who I want to be, but ME as I am).

Originality and authenticity are tough nuts to crack.  No doubt it feels like almost everything has been done before.  And when you are just starting out in business, you have superstars, or maybe even just the girl next door, that you blogstalk (or now FB stalk).  And so it’s natural that you begin to believe that you want to build a portfolio similar to theirs.  You start to almost think you are friends, because you have read them every day, commented, and maybe even received a response back.  And when that happens, you begin to think it’s possible.  And so you covet their style, you find out what actions they use to process, what lenses they like to shoot with, you might even purchase the same template as them or print at their labs.  But you are missing one MAJOR element.  YOU AREN’T IN THEIR HEAD, YOU HAVEN’T WALKED A MILE IN THEIR SHOES, AND YOU DON’T SEE THE WORLD THROUGH THEIR EYES.  And that’s OK, you see it through yours, and you bring your own experiences to the plate.  So rather than try to take on their style, think about how you make it unique.  What’s the first thing you see when YOU get to a session location?  Is it the same fence post you’ve seen photographed there time and again?  Or is it a hydrant?  Because yeah, you can shoot the shit out of someone leaning in a particular pose against a split rail, just as you’ve seen, or you can think “that hydrant has awesome fresh paint, I bet I could do a headshot with them sitting there and no one would ever know it was a hydrant!”  The point is, you can’t take someone else’s scenario and slot in your subjects.  It’s not your vision, it’s theirs.  Does that mean you can’t shoot in a public place because someone else shoots their?  Hell no!  In fact, last year I told Sarah Freel to shoot at the Coolidge Estate for a session (a private location where I had permission to shoot) and she came out with some shots and I thought “Holy cow, I am not sure in my 50+ shoots here that I have EVER captured a kid like that!”

Newborn photography makes it even that much more difficult.  There are endless props and endless workshops and in many cases, there just isn’t a whole lot of immediate differentiation between “curl up and sleep on a beanbag.”  But there are people that get it right like Amber Scruggs – Little Moon Photography (and many other fabulous photographers who are gracious enough to share in workshops – some only to have it taken advantage of).  Amber shoots something crazy like 12-24 newborns a month.  And she doesn’t even copy herself.  If you know her, she is meticulous about selection her hats, her props, her backdrops, and while she might repeat poses, almost never does she copy her own setups exactly.  She challenges herself by assessing what is in HER MIND that day, that she is seeing with HER EYES, and using HER EXPERIENCE of what works and what doesn’t, and then adjusting and adapting that to the UNIQUE NEWBORN that is in her studio.  If she can do that for all of her sessions, shouldn’t you (or I) be able to do that for ours, whether we shoot 1 or 15 newborns a month?  So is it being unoriginal if you put a baby in a bucket (safely!)?  Yes and no.  But it is copying if you ask Amber for a list of her fabric and prop vendors and then you buy the same blanket and hat, and put it in the same bucket, and position the baby the same way.  And after all that, since it’s not your setup, and it didn’t come from your heart, soul and experience, will the image really be that good?

To this day, I stick with the mode of operation that if I feel like I’ve seen it before, I verify that and do due diligence to make sure that I am not stepping on toes.  And if I am, I quickly back off, and spend some time thinking about how I can present my idea in a way that is uniquely me, without ever devaluing the original source.  Case in point:  I’ve had an idea brewing for a while about people and things I wanted to focus on as a blog side project.  I networked with some women, and I got about 50% through baking my idea.  And while the term “Mamapreneur” is hardly unique, and many people interview Small Business Owners on their blogs, my idea felt close (not an exact copy, but CLOSE) to what I’d seen on the ever-talented, and amazing stylish and artistic Stephanie Piscatelli from Bellini Portraits.  Not feeling right, even though I know the origins of my idea, I emailed Stephanie.  Is she one town over?  No, but sort of same market, maybe cross over blog readership or FB likes.  She described to me the origins and history of her Mamapreneur series and also described how it had been copied before.  And while my idea was only close, after working through a few stages (irritation, ah-ha, embarrassment, relief), I realized it would probably be disrespectful of me to move forward how I planned.  I back-burnered it.  It simmered.  I thought about where I was in my life, and how I needed to bring these experiences to light, and I embarked on a project that is now so different, and unique to me, without ever detracting or devaluing anything Stephanie has worked so hard to build.  Did it suck for a minute?  Yes.  Did I feel a bit defensive working through the process (seriously, I am NOT copying your idea, this idea was MINE)?  You bet.  Am I beyond happy that I gave it time, and now have something that I own all on my own?  Absolutely.  Do I still drool over almost everything Stephanie produces.  God, yes.  Is her style mine?  No.

There is such an incredible difference between imitation and inspiration.  Imitation is replication.  Inspiration is being awed, and then putting your own spin on it.  There is inspiration EVERYWHERE.  It’s YOUR JOB as a photographer, and an artist, and a business person, to figure out how to OWN IT in your own way.  Learning this, on your own, is the only way you can build a brand that is AUTHENTIC to you.  I can’t repeat it enough, as it was handed down to me by I think Audrey Woulard during a mentoring session, “If your brand isn’t AUTHENTICALLY YOU, it will fall flat and FAIL.”  You have to start somewhere, you have to begin learning, and imitation may be part of that process, but until you have figured out how to make what you do authentically yours, you need to take a step back and evaluate where you are in the development of your business and brand.  It is SO HARD to survive in this industry.  I consider myself successful, however not a month goes by when I don’t want to say “what have I done and can I really sustain this?”  It’s that hard and I’ve done all the work.  I can’t imagine declaring myself in business and not having tackled this challenge.

Nothing is more true than the cream rising to the top with photographers.  So do yourself a favor and don’t take milk from someone else’s cow, but go get your own and figure out how to cream it yourself.

[If you like this article, and want to read more, check out my Learning Resources posts on this blog or on Facebook].

So we shot this at my studio. It was supposed to be a mini session, but I have such a hard time keeping it mini when my clients are like old friends!  I think Michelle was a little confused when she walked in… what’s this big white room… where’s the studio part?  It’s evolving, but I can still shoot and have it turn out exactly as I like.  It makes me so happy that on a rainy Sunday, I can still eek out a natural light session in there!

So until we meet the babe, here are the other three!  Let me know what you think!

I love sneaking out on Sunday mornings.  I love it when it’s in the high 70s in March.  I love Charlestown.  I love repeat clients.  I love clicking with parents so that it’s just really easy to shoot.  And I love super cute kiddos.

Meet Corey & Jim.  I photographed their beautiful wedding on Halloween weekend.  You know, the one during the snowstorm?  It is sort of ironic that I shot their maternity session the only other day this winter when there was snow on the ground.  And it was about 20 degrees out.  Cold cold cold.  So we shot indoors, but that’s fine, we were able to accomplish some beautiful studio shots, not all of which I can share.  Suffice to say, the are dramatic, and gorgeous, because, well, so is Corey.

In addition to the studio shots, we played around with Clementine… she was awesome.  My studio is dog friendly, and I am more apt to stock dog treats than I am lollipops!  And at the end, we thought it was important to capture Jim, just the way he is… just a simple guy from KC who likes his BBQ and bourbon!  I laugh when I think of how many husband/client discussions are had around meat smokers, rubs, marinades and where the best butcher might be.

I should add that Corey is the one responsible for my awesome hair color, as she works at the FABULOUS Giraud Studio (for North Shore folks, they are beyond exceptional).  But I almost hate saying that, for their sake.  For those of you who see me on a daily basis, well, you know it’s not often pretty (dare I admit I’ve been standing in dried sweat workout clothes for a few hours now… and I haven’t actually “done” my hair in 4 days… and by “done” I really mean “brushed”).  But when I do wash, dry and “do” my hair, usually I get some form of a compliment and I sort of lob that right back over to Corey (and  Joanna… and Omar… and, well, Heidi!).

So here are the images.  I am dying to get the text that Corey is in labor.   I can’t wait for her newborn session! Actually, that’s a lie.  I am completely conflicted because my hair is ripening as we speak, but I need probably another two weeks before it’s ready… and that’s Corey’s due date.  There is a teeny tiny little part of me that is whispering “how dare she.”

I photographed Jess & Sean’s wedding (with Amy Ro). When we arrived to shoot their engagement session, I almost fell over because it was directly across the street from my old apartment. But even funnier was that Owen and I had seriously considered buying their home and had spent a good amount of time checking it out with a real estate agent! Fast forward to their amazing wedding… and then fast forward even farther to the announcement that TJ had arrived!

Heading into Charlestown is like coming home to me. On route to coffee with my cousin Susan prior to my session, I ran into Abby, who owns Olivia Browning, and event planned Jessica & Sean’s wedding (and we just completed her session)! During coffee, I run into another client from years back, and then continue the Friends-of-Friends-of-Clients-of-Neighbors drill that is my {entertaining} life. I find out that Jessica and Monica have become friendly (Monica being a good friend and the other bride I shot that same summer!). My arrival to Jessica’s was just an extension of all this, as if I was popping in to visit an old friend and meet her new baby.

TJ is a LOVE. Honestly, sometimes I worry a bit photographing the 6-weeker. Not at all sleepy in that peaceful way (although I bet he crashed when I left, my exit always brings on big naps). Usually a bit of funny skin going on. Often just getting out of that cranky 4-6 week period that I know, as a mom, made me certifiable. But not TJ. He woke up and ate just as I arrived, and from then on, was cooing, and smiling, and as wide-eyed as any little boy can be for his beautiful Mom. He is gorgeous, with a little sideways glance, a widows peak, perfect skin and big blue eyes. What’s so neat for me is having spent time with both his parents, I could say “Oh, wait, I swear I just saw Sean…” or “Jessica, he is all you right now!” And I know that Jessica is able to see glimpses of her brother, and for that, I think both genetics and generations are truly the most amazing gifts we have.

But more than that, Jessica is a mother. And an amazing one at that. By about week six, I am fairly certain I was hysterical… I remember thinking “How can I go back to work in a week if I can’t even get to Starbucks?” But Jessica seems to be managing it well, with a sense of calm, and perhaps a bit of “sometimes I am not sure what I am doing, but I know I am doing it right.” It’s so hard to manage the pressures of a new baby and then adding in work, marriage, friends… well, it begins a very long, 18 year long, production of spinning many, many plates in the air. She will do it well, that I know. And from what I hear, Sean is a rockstar dad. And while I didn’t see him, Jessica let me know just how great he is with his little buddy… and how they are already best friends, and how in an instant he’ll whisk him away so Jess can have just a minute.

I am sort of gushing. Can you tell? I just love watching new families grow into each other and I love watching how relationships and connections evolve. And I am eternally grateful that people think to include me in them and allow me to document just a little bit, and to help tell their story.

Lately I have been involved with a number of discussions with other photographers about pricing and the cost of doing business. And while there certainly are a varying range of opinions about how people should and do operate their business, a recurring theme of general misunderstanding of basic business costs has come up time and time again. And while I don’t LIKE to say “$300 for a shoot and burn session isn’t good business,” in most circumstances I believe that’s a correct statement. And as you know, my motto is “Cheap is not a business strategy.” Or at least it’s not one that will withstand the test of time, unless you are catering to the thousands, and your last name is Walton. And you are OK working for free.

That said, I know a lot of photographers who are just starting out, or who are in markets where there is a lower CoL (cost of living) and/or less wealth, will disagree with me, or just not understand what I mean.

In order to illustrate my point of view, I pulled out the numbers I used to calculate my business costs, and my pricing, the year I started out in business.  I was working full time at IBM and didn’t have the pressure of needing the extra income and I had the luxury of re-investing my revenue.  These are my COSTS, but not my PRICES (I started fully in business priced appropriately for profit and for my market and for my brand).

To clarify so that we are all using the same terms:

Cost of Goods (COGs) are things that are DIRECTLY related to your sales. So no order, no COGs. They are prints, albums, canvases, DVDs (products) + some people associate shipping with COGs too (inbound to you, outbound to your client).

Average COGS in portrait photography is about 20-25%. Selling digital brings it down, however there still is a COG associated for anything other than just uploading files (screened DVDs, cases, reference prints). Prints, albums, canvases, mounts, mini accordions, etc. have a higher COGs. Let’s not forget when you place an entire order and forget an item and you are now subject to a minimum order for something that costs $2.  Or something is drastically wrong with your color and you have to reprint an entire order. Let’s not even go there with Press Card disasters. All of this speaks to pricing your products and packages appropriately to cover your costs and the time associate with producing them.

Fixed Expenses are costs that you incur if you are operating a business (or even just starting one up) that you will incur indirect from a sale — you need these things regardless if you sell anything, you need them to be in business. The degree to which you need each varies on your business model and your volume and your overall setup. It makes sense to start each year with a budget for each category, then mid-year match up to where you are and figure out if you overspent or underspent and why (and sometimes there are very good reasons).

Tax & Legal Assistance, Memberships (Clickin Moms, PPA, etc.), Gear (lenses, bodies, flashes, CF cards, etc.), Hardware (harddrive storage, laptops, etc.), Software (Photoshop, actions, templates, etc.), Hosting, Web Site & Blog upgrades, Mentoring & Workshops, Logo/Branding, Advertising (booths, prints, ads), Print Materials (inserts, brochures, price lists, thank you notes), Packaging (boxes, clearbags, ribbon, bags), Studio Sample, Props, Studio Rent, Studio Operating Expenses, Cell Phone, Internet

Salary for your time, however there are various ways to calculate that depending on how your business is structured, so I am only going to address “paying yourself” on a broad scale — but it’s important to consider as you will see.

Gross Profit is the amount of revenue you collect, before taxes and expenses

Net Revenue Before Taxes = Gross Profit – COGs – Fixed Expenses – Paid Salary –> This is the number that is the basis for figuring out income taxes. However, that also varies based on how you structure your business, pay yourself, and your general tax rate.

Now let’s put this in real terms. You are going to shoot a full session (est. 1-1.5 hours, family and/or children or newborn) give the clients a DVD in basic packaging with 30 reference prints.

Price: $300  = COGs: $25  Shipping: $5  Total Costs: $30    Net profit: $270

BUDGET

The first thing you should do, as you plan your year, is to estimate a budget with the Fixed Expenses and determine which is a monthly, quarterly or annual expense, and determine which is a MUST have and which is a NICE TO HAVE. Based on my business four years ago (home based, nominal expenses), my FIXED EXPENSES were $15,782, or $1,135/month BEFORE I EVEN SHOT A SESSION. Even with a more conservative budget, removing some “nice to have items,” the fixed budget is still about $10K or about $761/month. In this figure, I do not include an allocation for gas, cell phone, etc. and other things that I was writing off for my IBM job (or as a final tax prep step). Obviously the more you grow, the more fixed expenses you incur, but generally you increase them in line with your growth.

Based on the $300 price point, in order to meet FIXED EXPENSE needs, you need to shoot between 3-5 sessions a month, and you have NOT PAID YOURSELF OR MADE A DIME OF PROFIT.

YOUR TIME

Now let’s consider your time. When I started out, I averaged about TEN hours per client (that’s a lie, once it took me 22 hours to proof down to a 30 image gallery). I still average that, but how it’s allocated is different (more design and consultation, less editing). Luckily, when you shoot better, you edit less.  Hours per client are determined by: pre-booking/book consult time (emails, phone calls, getting payment/forms), travel to/from shoot, shoot, download/backup/organization of files, editing, blogging/FB, gallery presentation, post-session communication, order management, order preparation/edit/placement/receipt, shipping/pickup, payment, close out of client.

Let’s assume that for these $300 sessions, your time is FIVE hours per client (but I doubt it when you are starting out), maybe TEN hours on the high end.

Additionally, every business has “admin” time — time that is allocated to the business that is not directly associated with a client (posting for CC, creating FB posts, blogs, promo cards, pricing, portfolio slideshows, washing newborn blankets, driving to the post office). Let’s allocate 5-10 hours a week for that.

You are now working between 35-90 hours a month, or 9-23 hours a week, and you have NOT PAID YOURSELF OR MADE A DIME OF PROFIT.

PAYING YOURSELF

Now let’s consider that you’ve been doing this for a while and you think YOUR WORK IS GOOD. AND IT HAS VALUE. AND YOU PROVIDE SOMETHING TO OTHERS THAT IS WORTH SOMETHING. (That’s why they are hiring you, right?). And you decide, “Gosh darnit, I want to make a profit and be PAID for my time.” Or “It really would help in these tough economic times to have some extra cash on hand to pay the bills… I could consider this a job and PAY MYSELF.” You decide that you want to pay yourself $15/hour for each hour you work.  I recommend paying yourself much, much more, but again sometimes this is dictated by how your corporation or taxes are set up, your CoL, etc. so let’s use this as a hypothetical figure.

Now you have two choices. You can WORK MORE so that you earn over and above your expenses (what you earn is more $/hour and profit, but typically also increased expenses), or you can INCREASE YOUR PRICES SO THAT YOU MAKE A PROFIT.

You can choose to keep your time per client short, and your admin time brief, and tack on $135-$175 (the more you shoot, the less you mathematically have to increase it) or you can spend more time on both and tack on $270 – $350. But either way, you are now PAYING YOURSELF FOR YOUR WORK. How much you increase your price is dependent on how much work you want to do (this is the “volume” versus the “boutique” model comparison), how much you pay yourself, and where and how you want to market your services and to which segment of the population.

Check out the comparisons. You can see how changing the variables of PRICE, TIME, AND VOLUME changes not only your net profit, but also your hourly rate. It ranges from $.70/hour (yikes) to $16.40/hour.

So now that all this fun and games is complete, keep in mind a few other MINOR (wink) details:

• The Numbers Do Not Lie.  If spend money, you need to understand that what you earn as revenue, counts against that.  It’s basic P&L (profit and loss).  What you choose to do with your P&L is your own business, but if you ignore it, you are doing yourself a big disservice.

• I am NOT saying that you have to be “expensive” to be in business.  I have just described a “break even” analysis to tell you how you determine the costs you need to cover to not LOSE money.  This is so helpful because you can apply it to a number of different pricing scenarios.  For instance, I know how profitable my mini-sessions are in comparison to my other sessions + packages.   My mini-session is the LEAST expensive thing I do, and it’s very profitable, however, I do need to shoot quite a few of them to equate to what my normal average sale is — so I make a choice as to how many I offer, but I do include them as an offering because I then allow clients to work with me who have tight budgets.

• None of the above addresses how you should determine your final pricing.  Your pricing should be a combination of your expense allocation, your COGs, your time [as in time to put together specific products and services], your own value or  your work, the market you live in, and your target client base.  Many people commented to me “I wish my clients understood this.”  And to that, I say “perhaps you need to find different clients.”  I seek out clients who above all, value ME AND MY WORK and do not nickel and dime me, or expect me to be priced just like my competition.  And because of that, I will make my pricing work for people that are respectful of this.

• If you are a client reading this, one of mine, I am sure you already understand why you would not want to work with someone who DIDN’T VALUE HERSELF or HER WORK enough to pay herself. And while a bargain is a bargain, typically you get what you pay for. But this isn’t really a targeted piece to clients, and doesn’t specifically address my clients, my pricing, or my services, my brand, my work.

• Everybody starts somewhere. And $300 for “everything” while you are building your portfolio may or may not be the right thing to do.  I am not advocating that someone who is just starting out set the same prices as me, or anyone else… that is AN ENTIRELY DIFFERENT CONVERSATION.  Additionally, when you first start it can take you 22 hours to proof a gallery that once you were really established and awesome, might take you 2 hours.  So maybe paying yourself by hour when you are just starting out is a little bit skewed!

• You can certainly charge $300 for your services, but offer what makes sense for that (less time and different service) so that you are not operating in the negative – make it fee based, and add on a la carte as your client wants more product and services… no harm in that (like above example of mini sessions).

• Your NET PROFIT IS SUBJECT TO A TAX RATE OF 20-40% depending on how you file your taxes and your household tax bracket (whether you file as a corporation or pass it through your personal income statement) — so if monthly net income of $1,385 felt good to you, keep in mind that it’s really closer to $970. Because that’s how Uncle Sam Rolls. And as someone who has a disaster to clean up with sales tax right now, I can tell you that my INCOME TAX PAYMENT is BEYOND PERFECT down to the dime. And not allocating correctly for it can really try a good thing (like your husband and accountant’s patience, your business credibility, etc.).

• YOU MIGHT HAVE TO CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR HOUSEHOLD. Imagine now being responsible for $1,000 worth of bills each month (or $3K in my case). It basically feels like even if you net $1K (or $3K) that you are still working for nothing. Not free, because your clients are paying you, but you still have no profit in your LIFE.

• You might be GOOD. You might be VERY VERY VERY GOOD. And it might be OK with you to NOT MAKE A DIME. But there are other photographer’s out there who value their time and their service FAR MORE than $15/hour, who have trained for years, and who have given their blood sweat and tears to build their business (and who have families to support). And because you decide that for your first few years you can “capture the market” and advocate that $300 is fair market value, their pricing of $750 or $1500 or $1800 seems GROSSLY out of whack. And so the market begins to re-set itself towards your pricing. And then, wait, a year passes and you realize YOU WANT TO GET PAID and you try to raise your prices… and WHOA, no one likes that… and you look around and WOW there is someone doing it for less than you, how dare they! So you can thank yourself for that, because undercutting the market and working for free… well, that’s all you baby!

So there is SO MUCH MORE to this. And I am writing this and risk angering people (primarily my peers who will scold me for spending 2+ hours writing this and then giving it away FOR FREE). And that last point is to be TONGUE IN CHEEK and POKING FUN and NOT DIRECTED AT ANYONE BUT RATHER TO THE ENTIRE MARKET. I just wanted to get it down “on paper” because it comes up over and over and over again and honestly I think some people defend it because they grab numbers out of the air, and some people just don’t know better… and of course, because for some people, this model actually works for them. So if it makes you pause, and perhaps bristle, please do yourself a favor and take a moment to think WHY.

For the others who actually found it valuable, awesome.

So these guys did not disappoint.  Everyone who has peaked over my shoulder has agreed… they are a gorgeous family.  Thank you so much… I am so truly grateful that you are my clients…and now friends.

My work is truly an amazing gift that I have given myself. Yes, in my busy months I sleep little, work 60 hour a week, and spend 75% of my time RUNNING MY BUSINESS [not shooting]. And THAT is a story for another day [the one to clear up the myth that it's a BLAST being a professional photographer]. But right now, what I do is a gift to me [and thus my family because HAPPY MOM = HAPPY FAMILY and don't ever let anyone tell you otherwise]. This year, I have been fortunate to photograph some of my VERY FAVORITE repeat clients. Clients who have been with me for years. It’s also been a chance to meet some new ones [like I think I might love my new clients tomorrow!].

It’s also a gift to me that I have STUDIO SPACE to play, to work, and to call my own. And apparently to be able to say “please come keep me company tonight at 8PM… bring wine…” Again, another story.

But the studio, it’s really opened up possibilities for me. Let’s get something straight, it is PAINFUL to write my rent check each month. That is money that could be in my pocket, paying for home repairs, buying things the kids need, going into an IRA. And should I ever decide I don’t want the expense [and perhaps would rather fund my Lululemon/Anthropologie/Frye Boot/Weekly Facials habit], it’s going to give the perception that my business isn’t doing well, when in fact, that might be the opposite. But right now, it’s my space and it allows me to meet my clients in a professional environment, show them my work, and honestly, it gave me a place to store all my crap.

But it’s kind of been under utilized and that was kind of bumming my high. I had a vision in my mind, executed, and when I was done, it just didn’t feel right. From there, I let it get messy. And I hated it more. Then I enlisted the help of a simply DIVINE design genius and she gave it one look and was like “WHOA. GREAT SPACE. BAD DESIGN.” And from that, gave me some tips using her high/low strategy and I was able to slowly execute her plan. It needs a few more details, but finally, when I get into work, I sigh and I am happy. So thank you Katie Rosenfeld… you and your daily blog inspire me.

OK, so land the plane Kristina.

I decided to try to push myself to create an indoor studio space that would do two things [1] to photograph in the lifestyle portrait style that I love, using primarily natural light, and avoid creating a typically proppy studio look {especially with newborns} and [2] to learn how to use my overabundance of natural light to create the perfect, classic, studio portrait.  And while those two things are almost on completely different ends of the spectrum, they both to me represent clean, unadorned, timeless photography.  They also each provided me with a different set of learning challenges and gave me something to get excited about. [The dork in me is FANATICAL about learning].

So yesterday I decided to go forth with a solid round of good old fashion practice [in addition to the previous day's session].  See?  This is where I can repeat “MY JOB IS A GIFT.”  Because Tuesdays and Thursdays are my days home with my kids… and the fact that I can turn them into productive working hours, while keeping my kids [and their friends] amused is AMAZING.  So I spent the day arranging and re-arranging set ups.  Trying out the light from each side of the building, and at different times of the day, pushing my gear when I had to, running to download, grabbing a fresh card, and starting over again.  And it was SO refreshing to be able to say “wow, these SUCK” and “holy cow, I am in LOVE.”  And with some, it was so great to get really constructive peer feedback on what I need to tweak and then get super excited for next week when I can set it up again and see if I can improve.  [The dork in me is also FANATICAL about getting feedback from my peers... because my mom and friends will always tell me I am awesome, even when I am not].

So here’s the result of it, with some notes. What a great deal of learning to be had. I am so excited to finish the room… to nail down the light the way I vision it… to shoot! So stay tuned for some studio tours, get together opportunities and of course session opportunities.

You may want to file these under Mommy Goggles, but honestly, I am in love with these.  They are actually SO GOOD at doing what I ask, and giving me what I need from them, and as long as I move fast, and keep it simple, they are gems.  One of the biggest things that has helped me working with kids is to greatly improve my instructions.  “Look up” doesn’t work if you need them to raise their head a bit, but instead “follow my finger” while you raise it just slightly.  “Smile” doesn’t work either… that’s a recipe for gritted teeth and scrunched smiles.  But instead, “Think about what you are getting for your birthday.”  And laugh, well, that’s easy.  Just mention farts. So being able to manage commands has really reduced the amount of stress and frustration during our shoots.

Peace.  Grace.  Thanks.  Calm.  Fortune.  Mine.

Another gift, while we are on the topic, is that these two girlies will have their friendship, almost from week one, documented and preserved.  They are truly best friends, speak in their own language, and are tremendously sad when apart.  Her mom and I are eternally grateful for their bond, and that we have them in our lives.